NOMINATE FOR UPCOMING HAIER AWARDS: You can nominate deserving student-athletes throughout March 2015 for the new Haier Achievement Award, given to student-athletes across all divisions for their accomplishments beyond sports. CoSIDA members are invited to nominate student-athletes who have achieved something special beyond their chosen sport, particularly in family or community service. The nomination form is available online at http://achieve.haieramerica.com/.
Eight award recipients are chosen throught March 2015. A monthly winner is chosen from November-on, so make sure you have your nominations in NOW to give your athletes the best chance for consideration! Your current student-athletes DO NOT have to be in-season to be nominated!
Haier will make a special presentation to all award recipients, make a donation in the amount of $2,000 to the general scholarship fund at each school and, present the Athletic Department with a Haier 48" Flat Screen television. All nominees will be reviewed by a judging panel comprised of sportswriters, editors, selected members of the CoSIDA Board of Directors, and former college athletes including Isaiah Austin, who has been named Spokesperson of the awards program.
An overall winner from the eight recipients will be chosen in the spring, selected in fan online voting. Haier will present $5,000 to the general scholarship fund and, a Haier 48" Flat Screen television to the Athletic Department at the school of the Haier Ultimate Achievement Award winner.
Meet the November 2014 Haier Award recipient: Elisha Hande, N.C. State (tennis)
Meet the December 2014 Haier Award recipient: JaCorey Shephard, Kansas (football)
WAYNE, NJ - Richie Suarez, a senior baseball player at Rowan University, has been selected as the third monthly recipient of the
Haier Achievement Award, which is presented to deserving student-athletes for their accomplishments beyond sports.
The announcement of the third of eight
Haier Achievement Awards being presented this year was made by John Homlish, senior vice president, Digital Living Business Unit for Haier America, one of the world's leading television and appliance manufacturers, and Doug Vance, Executive Director of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
"The Haier Achievement Award program creates a platform that helps bring to light those student-athletes who have achieved success beyond sports," said Homlish. "We are excited to recognize inspiring student-athletes like Richie to further motivate other young people to achieve and succeed both on and off the field. We commend him for proving that no obstacle is too big to overcome and setting a stellar example for other young people faced with challenges."
The fact that Suarez is a member of the Rowan University baseball team and is on schedule to graduate in May with a Bachelors degree in biological science is remarkable. On August 27, 2011, two days before he was scheduled to move into his residence hall, the Voorhees, N.J. freshman from Eastern Regional H.S. was diagnosed with High Risk, Pre-B, Acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He was admitted to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to begin 14 months of intense chemotherapy. Several months later, he was also diagnosed with avascular necrosis (AVN) in both hips, knees, tibias and femurs. In all, he received 40 months of treatment.
Although doctors had told him his baseball career was probably over, Suarez proved them wrong when he made his collegiate baseball debut on February 23, 2014, just two months after his final chemotherapy treatment and three and a half years after he was initially scheduled to begin his baseball career at Rowan. On the field last season, the 6-foot, right handed pitcher went 3-0 with a 4.05 ERA in 13.1 innings, striking out 10 batters. He helped Rowan win their second consecutive NJAC Championship and reach the third round of the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional. He was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie Pitcher of the Week on March 17 and recently received the ECAC Award of Valor.
A stellar student as well, he has earned NJAC All-Academic honorable mention and is a Rowan Scholar-Athlete for his athletic success and maintaining a GPA of over 3.30. He hopes to pursue a career in oncology.
"I'm incredibly honored," Suarez said. "There are people out there fighting battles every day and every day someone succeeds and beats the odds. Never giving up, to me, meant taking back my life and making the negatives in my life my biggest motivation."
Haier will officially recognize Suarez with a plaque and certificate at an upcoming ceremony. In addition, Haier will donate $2,000 to Rowan University's general scholarship fund and award a Haier 48-inch LED HD television to the school's athletic department.
The first two Haier Achievement awards were presented to
Elisha Hande of North Carolina State University and
JaCorey Shepherd of the University of Kansas. Hande, a three-year letter winner on the women's tennis team maintains a 4.0 GPA with a major in economics and a minor in German. She received the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) community service award in 2012 and 2013 for her work in the community. Shepherd is active in the community through Big Brothers, Big Sisters and at local schools where he volunteers as a reader and at carnivals, field days and football clinics. He is also a three-time Academic All-Big 12 Second Team honoree and a four-time Athletic Director's Honor Roll member.
Student-athletes from all sports, all schools, and all divisions are eligible for the Haier Achievement Award. Members of CoSIDA and fans can nominate student-athletes through March1 at
http://achieve.haieramerica.com. Haier will announce eight (8) honorees throughout the year and in mid-March invite fans to vote online for the
Haier Ultimate Achievement Award winner. The winner will earn his/her school a $5,000 donation to the general scholarship fund and a Haier 40-inch LED HD television. Additionally, all fans who vote will be entered into a drawing to win a Haier 48-inch LED HD TV.